


And Warm

by ZeldaByrdeBishop



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, based on poetry by alotawords, fluff central
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:26:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26772886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZeldaByrdeBishop/pseuds/ZeldaByrdeBishop
Summary: While curled up on the couch, inspiration for a poem overtakes Dorothea.
Relationships: Dorothea Putnam/Zelda Spellman
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	And Warm

**Author's Note:**

> This one-shot was inspired by a poem by Lota Louise (alotawords on tumblr) by the same title. Y'all have GOT to check out her poetry. It will sooth your soul and make you whole!   
> I hope you all enjoy!

Dorothea never thought she would see the day the Spellman house would fall quiet, but all she could hear as she sat in the parlor, reading on the couch, was the large grandfather clock behind her, ticking its low tone through the room.

Hilda was off with Dr. Cerberus doing as Zelda put it before she’d left for the academy, “doing Hecate knows what!” Dorothea suspected that was code for “going to the pumpkin patch after dinner before spending the night together.” Ambrose should be home, but Dorothea hadn’t heard the boy’s tell tale pittering about in the attic since he’d left for the academy with Zelda, so he must not have returned home yet. 

Sabrina had come home. Although, now she was off with a boy, Nick Scratch, perhaps? She had done her best to listen to the voice of the boy, but was unable to determine which male presence had graced their door by voice alone and Sabrina had been quick to leave before Dorothea could meet said boy. She’d never understood Zelda’s lax attitude towards the girl simply leaving with boys in the evening! It would be dark soon and boys were nothing but trouble as soon as the sun went down. Dorothea made a mental note to begin keeping her shotgun closer to the door. That would be sure to fend them off. 

Finally, she heard the heels of Zelda’s shoes hit the porch before the witch entered the house and Dorothea set Zelda’s copy of “Great Expectations” in her lap. Ambrose had recommended it after her ecstatic review of “Oliver Twist.” 

“Hilda? Sabrina? Ambrose?” Zelda called, sounding spent. 

“It’s just me, Darling.”

Zelda’s heels clipped against the wooden floors as she traveled to the parlor, setting her texts and briefcase of papers to grade on the coffee table. “Where in Sa- Hecate’s name are they all?” 

“Hilda is with Dr. Cee, remember? And Sabrina went out with a boy, while Ambrose is unaccounted for.”

Zelda frowned but nodded.

“Did you need one of them?”

The witch shook her head and sat down at the edge of the couch. “No….but I did have something I was hoping Ambrose would research…….. and Sabrina reeked of mischief today in Demonology and I was hoping for dinner, but I’d forgotten of my sister’s betrayal tonight,” Zelda finished with a quip, her lips pulling tight as she reached down to unbuckle her heels. The witch rarely removed her shoes before eight. 

“Is everything alright at the school?”

The witch made a non-committal hum before removing the book from Dorothea’s lap and sliding into its place, her hip resting between Dorothea’s thighs as her head tucked into the mortal’s chest, shutting her eyes. 

Dorothea frowned, running a hand through the witch’s silken curls. 

“I think I’m just tired…” The witch deferred. 

“You do run an academy, dear…” Her fingers gently massaged the witch’s scalp, sending a shiver down Zelda’s spine. 

They fell into a silence for a while, her finger’s playing among the witch’s pumpkin curls, but periodically resting her pinky against the pulse point below Zelda’s jaw, subtly checking the witch’s heart rate. It was higher than her still body expressed. Dorothea began to massage down the witch’s neck and then down her spine, until her hands met on the witch’s torso. 

Zelda made a soft sound of disappointment as Dorothea’s hands stopped and the mortal smirked, before caving, her fingertips resuming their soft circular movements against the silken fabric of the witch’s blouse as the ticking clock filled the silence. 

“What were you reading?” Zelda asked, interrupting the clock’s solitary ticking.

“Great Expectations. Ambrose recommended it.”

The witch hummed her approval, her eyelashes coasting over the thin fabric of the mortal’s button down shirt as she opened them to look over at the novel on the table beside Dorothea’s journal and black ballpoint pen. 

“It’s been a long time since I’ve read that one….”

Dorothea could feel the ellipses in the witch’s voice as Zelda’s muscles finally began to relax and she smiled to herself. “You must be tired. That wasn’t even remotely a demand,” the mortal teased as she carefully reached over to take the book.

Zelda’s eyes shut again as she smiled into Dorothea’s shirt, staining it’s white surface with her lipstick, rather than responding.

“Is there anywhere you would like me to begin?” Dorothea asked.

The witch shook her head, “Wherever you left off will do.”

“Alright..” Dorothea began as she turned to her dog eared page to launch into the story. 

She had just arrived at the part where Estella had shut Pip into the courtyard after their vigorous game of cards when she realized Zelda’s breathing had long since grown soft and deep with sleep. Dorothea glanced at the clock behind her, that hadn’t taken long at all. She wasn’t sure what Zelda had been up to at the academy the past week or so, but it was clear the long hours were beginning to catch up to the witch. 

Quietly, Dorothea shut the book, setting it between her hip and the back of the couch, before wrapping her arms around the witch. She shut her own eyes and simply listened to their breathing. 

Zelda jerked slightly, causing Dorothea’s arms to tighten as the witch fell deeper into the mortal’s embrace.  _ You’re safe _ , Dorothea thought, hoping the words would find their way into Zelda’s mind without her having to say them. The last thing she wanted to do was wake the witch when she needed the sleep. 

Zelda’s fingers twitched over Dorothea’s shirt, before she officially stilled, the diamond on her finger humble and small, but the witch had never seemed to mind. So far, they’d failed to set a date for an official wedding. Dorothea was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that enough time had passed in the world that the law would allow them to do so. Even displays of affection as insignificant as hand holding at the academy caused her back muscles to clench more often than not, but she had all the time in the world to get used to the privilege. To get used to an open and full love with the woman she’d been enamoured with for centuries. Not even with death did they part. She simply wished she’d been able to hold her, safe, within her arms earlier. 

Dorothea could feel the words starting to float around in her mind. Safe in my arms. Tired in my safe arms. Safe within my arms…. 

She had always written, mostly about Zelda, but the embrace of poetic thought tended to hit more frequently now that she lived in such close quarters to the witch. The witch who was so warm. Warm in my arms? Safe in my warm arms…

The mortal carefully reached to grab her journal and was able to snag the pen beside it, but her fingers were only just able to touch the binding, not enough to grab it without disturbing the witch, so she pursed her lips and looked around her - spying the copy of Great Expectations. She was sure Zelda would have a magical cure for her vandalism and if not she would be happy to buy her a new copy.

Dorothea opened the book, carefully resting the inside cover against the witch’s back and began to write, keeping her pressure on the pen light enough not to wake the witch.

In my arms I feel you drift,

And hear your breathing deepen,

And what took hours alone,

Is mere minutes,

Home, in my embrace.

You jerk once before it takes you,

That telling falling feeling,

Nearly waking.

Yet you’re secure still,

And safe within my tired arms,

Safe within my tired thoughts,

Safe within our loving bed,

And warm.

She looked over the words, tracing her finger down their indentations. She hoped Zelda would forgive her for ruining her book, but the relief of getting the words down onto a viable surface was too great to feel any true guilt. The mortal shut the book and set it back between her and the couch, before tossing the pen hoping to hit the table, but missed. 

Dorothea rolled her eyes and sighed, settling back into the couch, holding Zelda close. Her eyes shut without a fuss as the breathing of her witch pulled her into sleep. 

***

Not long after Dorothea had finished the book, she’d discovered it on Zelda’s side table.

“Finally getting to that re-read?” She’d asked.

“Yes. I thought it might be time. It is a good story,” the witch had replied, her bookmark placed at the first chapter. 

But that bookmark never moved. Dorothea had seen the witch pick up the book many times when she thought she wasn’t being watched….but she never seemed to get past the front cover. 

How odd. 


End file.
